Nets Coach Jordi Fernandez on Nolan Traore: 'He's Gotten Better Every Single Game'

Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore got called up from the G-League shortly before the Nets' Sunday night matchup against the Toronto Raptors.

Traore may get an extended look with fellow rookie Drake Powell out of the lineup for an indefinite period of time with a sprained ankle.

The No. 19 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft saw just under 10 minutes in the Nets' recent matchups against the Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks. However, Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez still felt like Traore got a decent amount of exposure.

“Real minutes mean a lot," Fernandez said. "So I know that eight to ten minutes may not seem a lot, but you can really help a team win a game in nine or ten minutes. Nolan deserved to play because he's done so well with Long Island. He's gotten better every single game, not just the numbers, but how he was playing. He was playing the same way we want him to play here: confident, shooting the ball, great assist-to-turnover ratio, all that stuff about pressuring the ball.

“He came here, he had the opportunity, he played. Competed in Dallas all the way through, played here the other day. And now we know that there's a stretch of games where the most important thing is consistent minutes. Consistent minutes and games played. That exposure to this environment is very important… The reason for all this is to keep developing, keep getting better, keep challenging yourself. And I think he's doing it. He's embracing it.”

Traore's 3-point jumper, driving ability, and playmaking skills have all looked sharp in the G-League, as he scored as many as 30 points on one night. He also averaged six assists per game.

Fernandez isn't the type of coach to give rookies minutes just to help them improve their game for the sake of it. He holds each and every player to a high standard, commands them to play hard, and fight through exhaustion.

Much to some Brooklyn fans' chagrin, that often means some of the veterans get more run on the court than players who are supposed to develop and help the Nets win games in the long-term future. However, rookies must create a mindset of earning their minutes and cultivating a strong work ethic to achieve consistent, sustainable success at the NBA level, as players with good habits often last longer than those with less effective habits.